Penne with Spinach Sauce

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Feel Good Food

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (435)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(435)

Cook Time:
12 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
6 servings

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 12 min
Total:: 27 min

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Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat or multi grain penne
3 garlic cloves
2 ounces goat cheese
1 ounce reduced fat cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.

Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Penne with Spinach Sauce
Shaneeka NEW YORK, NY 11-18-2009
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DELICIOUS & HEALTHY
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

So easy to make, so yummy and a great way to get so much out of your meal. Whole grain pasta is okay, but this recipe really... makes it top notch!Read more
recipe Penne with Spinach Sauce
Terri Hernando, FL 11-18-2009
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Try Collards instead of Spinach
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Since I didn't have any spinach on hand, but did have a whole patch of tender collard greens in the garden, I experimented... with the collards and it was great! The collards gave it a bit of a hot flair so I cut it with about 1/2 tsp of sugar. It was really good. Can't wait to try it with Spinach.Read more
recipe Penne with Spinach Sauce
Lucy edison, NJ 11-15-2009
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Simple and Scrumptious!!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

This dish was scrumptious with its basic simple ingredients! Although I made a few additions of my own by adding some red... chilli flakes to give it a little more flavor and heat. Also added some pine nuts to the sauce in the food processor as well as to the last spinach batch in the pan where I mixed the pasta and sauce to heat it all up and bring it all together. I rate this a 4 for its tasty simplicity!Read more
recipe Penne with Spinach Sauce
Anne Mantua, NJ 11-14-2009
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Overwhelming Garlic
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

Three cloves of raw garlic were too many. If do make this again, I would roast the cloves first to take away some of the... bite. I would also sautee the spinach leaves; there was too much of a contrast in textures, as if I mixed a creamy pasta dish with a salad.Read more
recipe Penne with Spinach Sauce
Patty Mahopac, NY 11-14-2009
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Really good and very easy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this recipe with little to no change. In making some of Rick Bayliss' recipes, I've learned that when using garlic... 'raw', a great way to lessen its bite is to keep it in its skin, cut a slit in the side, and mircrowave the cloves for 30 seconds, remove them from their skins and continue on. The recipe is a great way to incorporate more vegetables - I will definitely be making this time and again. Read more
recipe Penne with Spinach Sauce
Tina Auburn, ME 11-14-2009
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Yummy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was excellent. My husband doesn't care for spinach but I made it as we are trying to eat heathlier. I did limit the... garlic to two cloves and it was still a strong garlic flavor. That is what made the meal though. It was so easy and he loved it. This will become a staple in my menu planning. Thank you for such a easy but tasty recipe. Read more